Folding barb fish gaff



May 24, 1938. w. s. BLODGETT Er AL 2,118,147

FOLDING BARB FISH'GAFF Filed May's, 1937 Snventor WILLIAM 5. BLooeE'rTLEONARD R. BLonefJr ,anzi/LL (ttorneg Patented May 24, 1938 FOLDING BARBVFISH GAFF wiuiam s. Blodgett and Leonard R. Budgett,

. Portland, Oreg.

Application May 5, 1937, Serial No. 140,920

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to a gaf provided with a barb proximate its pointwhich can be caused to recede within the body of the gaff to permitremov-al of a fish. l

The object of the invention is to provide a fish gaff having a foldingbarb which normally rests within the body of the gaff and does notinterfere with the gang of la sh, but which will open out andeffectively prevent' the fish from loosening itself from the gaff.

The object of the invention is to provide a gaff with a folding barbwhich folds into the g-aff and means for positively causing the barb tofold, which means may be operated by the hand of a person in which thegaff is being held. v

An object of the invention is to embody simple construction and fewparts in the manufacture of the gaff in order to reduce manufacturingexpenses and to eliminate as far as possible the chances of breakage.

These and other objects of the invention will become more readilyapparent upon a study of the following description when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing which forms a part thereof.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the fish gaff whichshows it being employed for gading a sh.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation with portions in section in orderto disclose the internal construction of the gai.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional det-ail of the point of thegaff. This View shows the construction of the folding barb and the meansfor folding the barb.

Figure 4 is a plan of a straight type of gaff.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral I indicates the gaff in itsentirety, consisting of a shank 2, a hook portion 3 which terminates ina penetrating point 4. The gaff is made of tubular stock, or of solidstock and then bored to provide a longitudinal bore 5 which, of courseis closed at point 4. The end of the shank has a larger bore 6communicating with bore 5, and where these two bores meet there isconsequently formed a shoulder or ledge l which serves as a sp-ring seatas will presently appear. Carried within the shank and hook portions isa flexible rod 8. On the inside of the hook portion and proximate point4 is a slot 9 leading into bore 5, and in this slot is seated a barb Ipivotally mounted on pin Il. Pin Il has its ends secured in oppositesides of the hook portion, and the pivotal connection of the barbthereto (Cl. L3-5) is within bore 5. Barb ill has its point I2 slightlycurved, outwardly, and this point normally rests upon the exteriorportion of the hook forming the rearward end of the slot, as indicatedby engage dog I4 and will move ittoward the point 4. yThis will pivotthe barb i6 rearwardly until the curved end I2 rests upon the portion i3of the gaff. The rod is normally out of engage- PATNT FiiiE- y.

ment with the dog, thus allowing it to pivot back and forth. In order tosecure this normal disengagement there is provided a spring i coiledabout the opposite end Il of rod il. One end of this spring seats uponshoulder 'i while the opposite end seats upon a sleeve Iii which issolidly secured about rod 8. Hence when the rod is moved forwardly tofold the barb it compresses the spring, and when the rod is released thespring returns it to normal non-engaging position which allows the barbto move out of the slot. In order to hold the sleeve i8 in engagementwith the end of spring It, there is` provided a cap I9 which threads onthe end of shank 2 holding the sleeve therein. The end of rod 8 projectsthrough the cap and is provided at the end with a button 2B. To thisbutton is applied thumb or finger for moving rod S against spring I6 inorder to fold the barb.

The gaif is mounted on a handle or pole as desired. For this purpose itis provided with a sleeve 2| about the end of the shank. Projecting fromthis sleeve, radially, is a flat support member 22 provided withfastening holes 23. In order to fasten the ga to a handle, such handleis provided at its end with a suitable slot to receive the member 22,and holes therethrough corresponding to holes 23. Thereupon fasteningmembers are inserted through the corresponding holes. Figure 1illustrates a handle 24 so secured to the gaff.

Figure 4 shows a modification of the invention which may be used forspearing sh. This consists of an elongated tubular body 25. In everyrespect it is similar to gaif I, with the exception that it does nothave sleeve 2|, member 22, and hook portion 3. The body 25 may be madeas long as is practicable.

In operation gaff I is employed as any other gaff, sh being gaffed byinserting point 4 in their flesh. In the event that the fish has atendency to slip 01T the gaff, such movement will cause its flesh toengage the outturned end I2 of the barb. This will cause the barb toopen out thus effectively preventing the sh slipping off the gaf. It isto be understood that when the fish is gaffed the barb is in closedYposition, thus it will not tear the flesh. When it is desired to removethe sh from the gai, the button 20 is pressed, thus moving rod 8 toV aposition Where it closes the barb. Thereafter the sh can be readilyremoved. Y

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may bevaried, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing fromthe Yspirit of the invention.

Having described our invention, we claim- 1. A gaf, comprising a tubularbody having a shank portion and a hook portion terminating in apenetrating point, a slot proximate the point, a barb pivotally mountedWithin the slot and movable in and out thereof, a flexible rod slidableback and forth in the shank and hook, a dog projecting from the barb andengageable by Vone end of the rod and when so engaged pivoting the barbinto the slot, and spring means for maintaining the rod in normaldisengagement with the dog. Y

2. A gaff, comprising a body having a shank portion and a hook portionterminating in a penetrating point, and a slot proximate the point, abarb pivotally mounted to move in and out of the slot and provided witha projecting dog, a member movable back and forth in the shank and hookand when moved in one direction engaging the dog and moving the barbinto the slot, and spring means for maintaining the member in normaldisengagement with the dog.

3. A gaif, comprising a body having a shank portion and a hook portionterminating in a pene- Vforth in the shank and hook and when moved inone direction engaging the dog and moving the barb in the slot to aposition wherein the curved end rests upon the face of the hook, andspring means for maintaining the member in normal disengagement with thedog.

4. A gaif, comprising a body having a shank portion and a hook portionwith a penetrating point and a slot proximate the point, a barbpivotally mounted to move in and out of the slot and provided With adog, a member movable back and forth in the shank and hook and whenmoved in one direction engaging the dog and moving the barb into theslot, and means yieldably maintaining the member in normal disengagementwith the dog.

5. A gaff, comprising a body having a shank and a hook portion and a,point and a slot proximate the point, a barb pivotally mounted to movein and out of the slot and provided with a dog, a member movable backand forth in the shank and hook and when moved in one directionengagging the dog and moving the barb into the slot,

means yieldably moving the member in the opposite direction to disengagethe dog, and means for manually moving the member into engagement withthe dog.

6. A gaif, comprising a body having a penetrating point and a slotproximate the point, a :in

barb mounted to pivot in and out of the slot, and a normally disengagedmember engageable with the barb to move it into the slot.

WILLIAM S. BLODGETT. LEONARD R. BLODGETT.

